Friday, September 4, 2009

Lessons Learned While Outlet Mall Shopping

To take advantage of this beautiful end-of-summer day, Eric's cousin Katie and I took the girls to the outlet mall to buy them some fall clothes. If you have a Carter's or OshKosh store near you, be sure to head in there this Labor Day weekend because they had some GREAT sales! You can also add to your savings by using this coupon for Carter's and this coupon for OshKosh.

I don't attempt the outlet mall often because it is an hour drive from our house (with traffic) and it isn't the most kid-friendly place to go. Lots of stores + overflowing racks + millions of other moms and kids all trying to check out at the same time = disaster. But every time I go shopping there, I learn a little something new to make my next trip better. Here are a few things I learned today.

* Almost all outlet stores (aside from the high end stores) have an additional coupon floating around somewhere. Get in with the right Mom, and they will have extras in their purse (like I did today :-)

* Baby/Kid stores are the least accessible with a stroller so if you are thinking about taking your new BOB double stroller out for a spin...don't pick the outlet mall. Or if you do, bring another Mom or friend so they can wait with the stroller while you check out.

* If you are shopping in a children's store, don't expect other customer's to be as tolerant as you are. I had 3 women roll their eyes at me as I tried to maneuver my stroller around a rack of clothes. Sorry bisnatches...I have kids with me. My bad.

* Times the number of snacks you think are necessary for a trip to a regular mall by at least 3.

* If your child has just finished a cherry sucker, don't let them stand next to the white Corvette parked next to you.

* And finally, don't assume that just because one child prefers to spend the hour drive home like this...

Means that the other child will too. So come prepared with a package of wipes for entertainment purposes :-)

I am pretty pooped from our day of fun, but duty calls and I must prepare to teach 25 18-year-olds about thesis statements tonight. Oh well...at least it is a holiday weekend!! Do any of you have any fun plans? I know this comes as a great shock...but we will be celebrating another birthday around here. Woohoo! Stay tuned for that fun post tomorrow.

2 comments:

I don't go to the outlets much either. It's about a 45 min drive for us and last time we went, Ryan pitched a total fit because he was tired (had no nap) and didn't want to be in his car seat. And..it's hard waiting in long lines when you have an impatient toddler ready to ride in the stroller instead of sitting still! But I did find some GREAT deals!! ;)